Aim for the Stars
by starrnobella
Summary: A collection of drabbles regarding characters from the Arrow Universe. Each story will contain a summary or the prompt it is based on will contain a rating in the Author's Notes section at the beginning of each story. (Rated M, just in case) Please feel free to send me requests or prompts for a story! Enjoy!
1. The Truth

**A/N:** Welcome to my latest drabble collection. Yes I know I've got far too many, but that's the nice thing with Drabble Collections. There's no true pressure to update because each chapter is a full story of some kind. This is my first attempt in the Arrow Fandom, so please take it easy.

Title: The Truth  
Pairing: Olicity  
Rating: K  
Summary: Sometimes there might be a bit of truth behind office gossip

Special thanks to xxDustNight88 for her beta duties! :) You should all read her work.

If you enjoy the chapter, please leave a review! I'd also love some prompts. If this gives you any ideas, I love Olicity however I am open to other pairings.

Love always,  
~starr

* * *

"Have you seen the way the way he looks at you?" Curtis said casually to Felicity after Oliver had left the room.

"What do you mean?" she asked as she slid her chair from one screen across the platform to the next. "You know what, nevermind. Shouldn't you be gearing up to go after Chase?"

"Oliver asked me to stay here and help with whatever you needed. Everyone else can see it. I just want to know if you've noticed it too," Curtis insisted.

Felicity paused what she was doing and turned to look at him briefly. She thought about what he had said for a few moments, but shook her head clearing all thoughts of her ex fiancé aside. "Curtis, I don't have time to think about this right now. We have work to do."

"Fine," Curtis said shaking his head. "This will be the last thing I say on the matter, so please hear me out."

Felicity sighed and hung her head. "Okay."

"He still loves you and you still love him. We all can see it in the way you look at each other. So, for crying out loud, would you just tell each other?" he said placing his hands on each of her shoulders, giving her a cautious smile.

She returned the smile briefly. "Thank you for your input on my relationship with my ex fiancé and our boss, Curtis. Can we get back to work now?"

Sighing defeatedly, Curtis nodded his head and pulled up a chair next to Felicity and got to work. Every so often he would open his mouth to say something else on the matter, but always stopped himself. She'd talk about it when she was ready and he had said all he could say.

Felicity kept a careful watch on him from the corner of her eye. It made her smile when she see him open his mouth to say something else, and then internally chastise himself for even thinking it. For now she needed to remain focused on the work in front of her. Oliver needed her attention to be on finding Chase, not on what the other members of the team thought about their relationship.

. . . . . . . .

"You know," Felicity began as she finished buttoning up her blouse and turned to see Oliver pulling t-shirt over his head. "You really need to watch it with the lovey dovey looks when the others are around."

Once his shirt was back in place, Oliver looked up at her and furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? I thought I was rather discreet."

"There has been talk in the team about how we look at each other, and that we should just tell each other how we feel," she replied as she walked over to stand in front of him before placing a gentle hand on his chest.

"There has?" he asked, looking down at her with a wicked smile on his face. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers wrapping his strong arms around her waist, pulling her body flesh against his as she wrapped her arms around his neck. A low moan escaping her lips, allowing him the chance to slip his tongue into her mouth briefly.

Slowly, he pulled away and placed another soft kiss to her forehead. She looked up at him with a lovestruck smile on her face. "Wouldn't they love to know the truth," Oliver said with a laugh.


	2. The Masks We Wear

**A/N: Hey loves! Sorry it has taken me so long for a new update to this collection, but inspiration has finally struck and that's were this came from! :)**

 **This is my second piece for the 31 days of Fanfiction Challenge. The theme for the day was Rare Pairs!**

 **Looking at a little bit of the strain on Roy and Laurel's friendship after Sara's death. I do hope you enjoy!**

 **Beta love to xxDustNight88! :) It is also based on one of her prompts: Constant Vigilance. Savage. Recharge. " I didn't come all this way so you could just avoid me."**

 **Title: The Masks We Wear**  
 **Rating: K**  
 **Pairing: Roy/Laurel**  
 **Summary: Masks allow us to cope with the reality of situations that we aren't mentally ready to deal with, no matter what that situation may be.**

 **If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, I have an author's page on Facebook that you can check out (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I am very active in on a daily basis. I'm also on tumblr (starrnobella) that you can follow along with me as well.**

 **If you enjoyed the chapter, please be sure to leave a review! Can't wait to hear what you think!**

 **Love always,**  
 **~starr**

* * *

"Constant vigilance,"she mumbled to herself as she looked out over the city from her hiding spot. That was one thing that Oliver always harped on them about when he was training them in the bunker.

" _If you want to be out in the field, then you need to be able to watch your back."_

His words were playing on repeat in the back of her head. She knew that he was only worried about her because it was Oliver. That was just the way that he was. He always wanted the best life for her, and this most certainly was not what he had in mind.

Cracking down on crime as a vigliante was the last thing that Laurel Lance thought that she would be doing at twenty-nine years old. She always thought that by now she'd have settled down with a husband with a child on the way, if not one already running around the house. Oddly enough, she always thought that it would be with Oliver.

However, since he came back from the Island and started donning his mask, their relationship had never been the same. His mask was his way of keeping secrets from the ones he loved most. Although, if she was being honest with herself, that's why she was wearing a mask now too.

She was refusing to come to grips with the fact that Sara was dead. On top of that, she was refusing to telling her father that she had died. Every time her father asked her about the Black Canary, she had to lie to him. She couldn't tell him that Sara was dead. She couldn't even say the words out loud.

In fact, when Roy told her that he had murdered Sara, she couldn't bring herself to speak to him. She just left. She didn't even want to be in the same room as him. She pulled the mask down around her eyes and disappeared into the night.

She was looking for another answer.

There was no way her friend would have killed her sister. Certainly not Roy. He was the kindest person she knew.

A voice over her com pulled her away from the thoughts of Sara.

"Savage is headed your way, Black Canary. Arsenal, can you help her out?" Felicity's voice said.

Laurel sighed and shook her head. "I don't see anything yet," she replied.

"I'm on his tail. I'll be at your position in less than a minute."

There was a pain in Roy's voice that Laurel was sure everyone else could hear. He wasn't coping with Sara's death any better than the rest of them. Although, she was sure that his visions weren't making it any easier on him.

The thud of boots hitting the ground behind her pulled her back to reality once again. Her thoughts needed to quit drifting. There would be time to think about Sara later and mourn her death. They had a bad guy to catch.

"He turned south on Main. He's headed toward Spartan and the Arrow," Roy announced over the coms before turning his off. "Can we talk?"

Taking a deep breath, Laurel reached up and removed her com before turning to face him. She didn't want to do this. Especially not now. Oliver would never let them hear the end of it if they missed their chance to catch Savage.

"We need to cover Oliver," she replied coldly as she moved to walked past him.

As she passed him, he reached out a hand to her arm. The grimace on her face was enough to make him pull his hand away and card it through his hair, pushing the hood down to reveal his face. She could see a pain in his eyes that had settled in the day that he told her the truth.

"I didn't come all this way so you could just avoid me," he huffed.

"No one asked you to," she replied, folding her arms over her chest. "What do you want to talk about?"

She watched as he took a deep breath before removing his mask. There was an ache in her chest that led her to reach up to touch her own mask. The one she wore to honor her sister.

"I want to talk about Sara," he began, "I need you to know that I didn't mean to do it. I don't even know why I would have done it."

"I know," Laurel replied.

"If I could go back…" he mumbled, carding his hand through his hair and looking down at the mask in his hands. "I don't deserve to wear this anymore…"

"Yes you do. You, more than anyone, deserve to wear that mask," she said, reaching up to remove Sara's mask. "I'm the one who is using this mask just to hide. You wear yours to make Star City a safer place."

Roy looked up at her, his green eyes meeting her blue ones. "You deserve to wear your's, too. Sara would have wanted that. I wasn't keeping the city safe when I killed her."

"You weren't yourself. You were still trying to recharge from the mirakuru overdose that Slade hit you with," Laurel replied, running her fingers through her hair. "I shouldn't have been avoiding you. I just wasn't ready to deal with the real reason I was wearing the mask."

"We both have our reasons for the masks. _All_ of the masks we wear," Roy said with a slight laugh. "We just have to decide which one we are going to wear after tonight."

"The ones that help to keep this city safe," she said with a smile, placing her mask back over her eyes. Roy smiled and followed suit. "Let's catch this jerk."


	3. Vodka Promises

A/N: Hey loves! Here's a new piece for this collection! I'm loving this 31 days of Fanfiction Challenge! Today's theme was Friendship so I chose to look at John and Oliver's friendship :)

Beta love to xxDustNight88! :) It is also based on one of her prompts: Constant Vigilance. Savage. Recharge. " I didn't come all this way so you could just avoid me."

Title: Vodka Promises  
Rating: K  
Pairing: John & Oliver, Implied Olicity, Oliver/Laurel  
Summary: Sometimes all it takes is a few shots of vodka and the truth from a friend to make a bad situation seem less intense.

If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, I have an author's page on Facebook that you can check out (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I am very active in on a daily basis. I'm also on tumblr (starrnobella) that you can follow along with me as well.

If you enjoyed the drabble, please be sure to leave a review! Can't wait to hear what you think!

Love always,  
~starr

* * *

Staring down at the empty glass in his hands, Oliver sighed and shook his head before setting it down on the table. He scrubbed his hand over his face briefly before reaching for the bottle of vodka sitting beside him and filling his glass once again. Slowly, he lifted the glass to his lips and downed the liquid quickly.

After setting the glass down on the table, he leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. His mind was running at a ridiculous pace and there was no shutting it off. He hadn't stopped thinking about Felicity since she had stormed out of the bunker a few hours earlier. He was wracking his brain trying to figure out where exactly he had gone wrong.

When John entered the bunker, he found Oliver, sitting at the table with his head in his hands and a half empty bottle of vodka to his right. He had been fairly certain that that bottle was full the last time he had seen it.

"Rough night?" John asked, walking over to the table where Oliver was leaning.

Oliver lifted his head and smirked when he heard John's voice. He should have known that John would come by to check on him, especially if anyone else had overheard the argument between him and Felicity. "That's an understatement," Oliver scoffed, shaking his head.

"Wanna talk about it?" he replied, grabbing the vodka and pouring some into an empty glass. Lifting the glass to his lips, he tipped his head back and allowed the liquid to burn his throat before refilling it and offering Oliver a refill.

Oliver nodded, accepting the drink and as he picked the glass up he and John toasted to one another and quickly finished off the drink.

Oliver sighed and hung his head as he placed the empty glass on the table. He inhaled sharply as he lifted his head and met John's eyes. "Felicity and I got into an argument," he admitted.

"I see," John said, placing his empty glass down and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table, interlacing his fingers and pressing his pointer fingers against his lips. After a few moments, he spoke again. "What happened?"

"I'm not even sure what I did this time," Oliver relented, scrubbing his hands over his face before carding it through his hair. "I haven't been thinking straight since Laurel's funeral."

"None of us have," John started, only to be cut off by Oliver.

"But everyone else has been able to grieve. If I grieve, then no one else gets to," Oliver shouted, slamming his fist into the table causing the glasses to shake. He pushed the stool away from the table and walked a few steps away before turning back to face John.

John didn't say a word, he just reached for the bottle and poured the final two glasses out of the bottle and slid one over to Oliver, which Oliver took with a furrowed brow. John tipped his glass towards him and Oliver did them same.

Each one raised their glass to their lips and finished off the drink quickly. Oliver and John respectively set the glasses back on the table and Oliver crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for John to say something. He knew his exclamation was unnecessary, but he didn't know how else to deal with his pain.

"No one has told you that you can't grieve for her, Oliver," John began, resting his hands on the table. "You have every reason to grieve right now. You and Laurel have a history unlike anyone else on the team."

Oliver scoffed and shook his head, his lips pressed into a hard line as he rolled his shoulders. Talking about his history with Laurel was something that he didn't talk about with anyone, even though John knew more about it than anyone. Oliver knew he didn't mean anything by bringing it up, other than to help him deal with it, but Oliver just wasn't ready.

"I know this isn't for you to talk about," John said, interrupting Oliver's thoughts. "But you need to deal with it and finding the bottom of a bottle of Russian vodka isn't going to make it go away."

"I know," Oliver replied coldly, lowering his gaze to the floor and studied his shoes. He was willing to do anything at this to end this conversation. He'd deal with his own issues later, after they had Darhk.

John shook his head. He could tell that he wasn't getting anywhere at this point. "Everyone is having a hard time coming to grips with Laurel's death. And when you are ready to talk about this, you know where to find me. If you want to yell at someone, come yell at me."

"I don't want to yell at anyone," Oliver huffed, finally looking up from his shoes. His steely blue eyes meeting brown eyes for the first time since John entered the bunker. "I appreciate what you are doing, John. But this is the only way I know how to deal with this."

"I get that," John sighed. "Promise me something then."

"What's that?" Oliver asked.

"Don't drink the whole thing alone next time," John said with a smile.

For the first time that evening since Felicity left, Oliver smiled and nodded his head. "I promise."


	4. Dear Oliver

**A/N: If you have an issue with MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, please skip this story.**

 **First off, I want to say PLEASE don't hate me. This was written for the 31 days of Fanfiction Challenge and the theme for day 12 was Major Character Death and day 13 was hurt/comfort. When I first saw the theme for yesterday, this was the first thing that came to mind.**

 **Beta love to xxDustNight88! Alpha love to SquarePeg72! :)**

 **Title: Dear Oliver**  
 **Rating: T**  
 **Pairing: Olicity, Thea & Oliver**  
 **Summary: Sometimes all it takes is a few lines written on a piece of paper to bring you to your knees.**  
 **TRIGGER WARNING: Major Character Death**

 **If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, I have an author's page on Facebook that you can check out (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I am very active in on a daily basis. I'm also on tumblr (starrnobella) that you can follow along with me as well.**

 **If you enjoy the story, please drop me a review!**

 **Love always,**

 **~starr**

* * *

 _Dear Oliver,_

 _I hoped this day would never come. I hoped that you would never have to read this letter, but I knew that I had to write it just in case, especially because of the lives that we lead. Fighting against the darkness that is trying to over take this city is something I never thought I would ever be doing, but I wouldn't change it for the world. It led me to you._

 _Nothing in life is ever certain. Each new day isn't a guarantee. It is something that we hope, and hope is all that we ever have. Hope is the light shining at the end of the tunnel on every single dark day when we don't think that we are going to see the next one come. Hope is what led me to falling in love with you._

 _Do not blame yourself for my death, Oliver._

 _Do you hear me?_

 _Do not blame yourself. Put the blame on whoever it is that killed me. It's not your fault. It has never been your fault._

 _The death of Tommy is meant to be a dark cloud hanging over the head of Malcolm Merlyn, not over your's. Moira died at the hands of Slade Wilson, you weren't holding the sword that killed her. Moira died to save you and Thea. Laurel's death was caused by Damien Darhk, not by The Green Arrow._

 _My death was not at your hands. You did everything that you could to save me, but it was my time to go. As I write this, I know I have no idea who is responsible for my death, but I know one thing. I know that you will seek justice against the person who has taken me away from you._

 _I knew that getting close to you was possibly the most dangerous thing I could have done with my life, but I just couldn't stay away. No matter how many times you told me that you couldn't be with someone you could really care for, I found a way to stay close to you. I don't regret doing so, and you shouldn't regret letting me get close to you. Our relationship, as damaged as it may be, was one of the greatest experiences of my life._

 _I hate that our story had to end this way. I hate that I never got to say goodbye to you, but that's why I wrote this letter. I had to be able to say goodbye and I had to be able to tell you how I feel about you. I had to do something to tell you that it is okay to miss me and that it is okay to grieve._

 _You are allowed to grieve. No one has the right to tell you that you aren't allowed to grieve. I know that you think you have to be strong for everyone else, but you don't have to be. You are allowed to be human and to show emotion. The team, more than anyone else in your life, will understand and they will be there to support you. That's what a family does. It comes together in good times to celebrate, and it comes together during the hard times to support each other._

 _Let them be there for you, Oliver. Even if you don't let everyone in, please let John and Thea be there for you. You have been there to be strong for them, and now it's their turn to be there for you. They love you more than you seem to realize and all they want is for you to be happy._

 _I never stopped loving you, Oliver. Even when we found ourselves with other people, my heart was still drawn to you. Like a moth to a flame, I couldn't stay away and I know you couldn't stay away from me. You needed me just as much as I needed you._

 _You brought such a light into my life when things got hard and I never got to thank you for that. You showed me what it felt like to be loved when it seemed like there was no one in the world who would ever love me. You saw me for more than the "blonde in IT." You saw me as the person who was capable of so much more._

 _Don't give into the darkness and the regret that is trying to consume you. You are strong enough to overcome it._

 _You'll get the son of a bitch that did this to me. You always do._

 _I love you, Oliver Queen._

 _My biggest regret is that I didn't get to kiss you one last time._

 _Forever yours,_

 _Felicity_

. . . . . . . .

He had found it tucked inside of his chest from the Island. She knew him well enough to know that when something bad happened, the first thing he did when he got back to the bunker was to open that chest and take out the bottle of Russian vodka that Anatoly had given him. A bottle that he had shared with John and Roy in the past. One that he had hoped he would never have to drink from again because he was going to give up the vigilante lifestyle.

What had driven her to leaving this here before she left the bunker one evening? Although, now he would never be able to ask her because she was gone. If only he had gotten there a little bit sooner, then maybe...just maybe.

He slammed his fist down on the table, causing the bottle to shake as he let out a sigh before reaching for it. Slowly, he undid the cap and poured some of the clear liquid into a glass. As he started to raise the glass to his lips, he paused and looked down at the glass in his hands.

What was he doing?

This isn't what Felicity would want him to be doing right now. She'd want him to be out there trying to catch Cutter and put her back in Iron Heights, if not in the cell that Slade Wilson had called home on the Island.

The scene kept playing over and over in his head. The gun being held to her head. The finger held so tightly to the trigger. One wrong move and it would be Felicity's blood splattered all over the wall.

Only, it didn't take one wrong move. Cutter pulled the trigger anyways. There was nothing Oliver could do to save her. Her death was his fault. Cutter's words played on repeat in his head, like a soundtrack designed to pull him deeper into the darkness.

" _It doesn't have to be this way, lover. I don't have to kill her. Just tell me you love me, lover. Let's be together forever."_

Tossing his head back, Oliver pressed the glass to his lips allowing the clear liquid to burn it's way down his throat before slamming the empty glass on the table. He scrubbed his hands over his face as the sound of the gunshot echoed in his head and the image of Felicity's body falling to the ground stood firm in his mind.

The tears started to well up in the corners of his eyes.

He had failed her.

He wasn't able to save the one person who meant the most to him.

Was he really cut out to be the one who saved Star City when he couldn't even save her?

For the first time ever, he allowed the tears to stream down his cheeks and the sadness overtook his body. The sob ripped through him as he reached for the glass off the table and threw it against the wall opposite him. The sound of the shattering glass didn't even register with him as he collapsed to the floor. The pain he felt in his heart was unbearable. He allowed himself to cry because that was the only thing he knew he could do right right now.

. . . . . . . .

When Thea found him, he was curled up in a ball by the table where he kept his chest. It looked as though he'd been crying. That was something she had never seen him do. The longer she thought about it, the more she realized that she had never seen him with tear-stained cheeks. Even when their mother had been killed, he hadn't cried. He felt as though he needed to be strong for both of them.

This time it was her turn to be strong. He needed her to be.

"Ollie," she said gently, kneeling down beside him to sit. She rubbed her hand over his shoulder causing him to turn and look at her. His eyes were bloodshot and raw. Her heart hurt just looking at him.

Slowly, he sat up and brought his knees to his chest, turning to look at her. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward resting his head on his knees and took a deep breath. As he opened his eyes, he found her looking at him. Her face riddled with pain and concern for her big brother. He tried to paint a fake smile on his face for her, but couldn't. It had only brought the tears back and he scrubbed at his face to wipe them away.

"Ollie, it's okay," she whispered, taking his hands in hers and pulling them away from his face. "It's only me. You don't have to be embarrassed to cry in front of me. You're allowed to be human."

A small smile graced her face when she saw his eyes light up when she called him a robot. Taking a deep breath, Oliver's lips turned up to a half smile. "Thanks, Speedy," he mumbled.

"You're welcome," Thea replied. She looked down at the piece of paper beside him and immediately recognized the handwriting. "So you found the letter…" she began.

He nodded in response, lowering his eyes to look at the letter before lifting his eyes to meet hers. However, he didn't find sadness in her eyes. He found something else. "Speedy?" he asked, quirking his brow.

Thea took a deep breath before replying. "We all wrote them and have placed them around the bunker in places we thought you would look when you made it back here. You know, just in case."

"What do you mean?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"We didn't want you to blame yourself if something ever happened to any of us because we know how you are," she explained. "We wanted you to know that you will never be alone, no matter what happens to any of us."

"Thank you," Oliver said, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. It didn't make Felicity's loss any easier, but it was good to know that his team, his _family_ rather, were looking out for him, now and in the afterlife.


	5. Red Looks Good On You

**A/N:** Okay, I'm back to hopefully gain your forgiveness after killing off our beloved Felicity with a really cute Halloween story. I gain the inspiration for this story from a prompt I saw briefly on Tumblr and my beta told me I needed to write it, so that's what I did. I do hope you all enjoy!

All the love to my beta and best friend, xxDustNight88!

Title: Red Looks Good On You  
Rating: K  
Pairing: Olicity  
Summary: Finding out Oliver has never been trick or treating, Felicity takes it upon herself to give him an experience he'll never forget.

If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, I have an author's page on Facebook that you can check out (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I am very active in on a daily basis. I'm also on tumblr (starrnobella) that you can follow along with me as well.

If you enjoy the story, please drop me a review!

Love always,

~starr

* * *

"What do you _mean_ you've never been trick or treating?" Felicity asked in shock as she sat down on the couch in their small apartment.

Oliver shrugged, joining her on the couch and pulling her into his lap. "It just wasn't something we did growing up. Mom would normally just throw a big party for Halloween. I guess I never thought about it being weird," he replied, kissing her lightly on the cheek as she snuggled in close to him.

"So how did you get your fix of all the Halloween goodies that you can only get at the store once a year?" she insisted. How didn't she know Oliver had never been trick or treating before? She was pretty sure that was something a fianceé should know about their beloved.

"I didn't," Oliver said with a laugh. "How often do you see me eating candy?"

She thought about it for a moment, and for the life of her, she couldn't think of the last time she had seen him enjoy a Hershey's bar or _any_ candy for that matter. "But, Halloween candy is different from regular candy. It's like a right of passage for childhood. How did I not know you have never been trick or treating?" she asked, smacking him in the chest playfully.

"Apparently you don't know everything," Oliver laughed, grabbing her hand before she could hit him again. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers softly, whispering, "It's not that big of a deal. We can stay in and pretend to watch a scary movie instead…"

"Nice try," Felicity said, climbing off of his lap and extending a hand to help him up off the couch. "We are going trick or treating this year. But first we need to get the perfect costumes. Let's go!"

Letting out a sigh, Oliver allowed her to pull him off the couch and drag him out the door. There was nothing he could say to change her mind and if dressing him up in a costume made her happy, then he couldn't say no.

. . . . . . . .

"I am not going out in public dressed liked this," Oliver huffed, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He scrubbed his hands over his face before turning to look at Felicity, watching him from their bed as she pulled her fishnet stockings the rest of the way up her leg.

"You most certainly are going out in public like that," she replied, rising from the bed and joining him at the mirror. She brushed a few wrinkles out of her skirt as she looked at their reflection. "You make a sexy Flash," she said, pressing her lips to his cheek and wrapped her arms around his waist.

He laughed, "Not nearly as sexy as you look right now."

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight, pressing his lips to the top of her head as she nuzzled her head against his chest.

"Let's take a picture together and then we need to get going," Felicity said excitedly.

Oliver sighed, "Do you we have to?"

"It's part of getting into the Halloween spirit!" she replied as she quickly gathered her phone from the nightstand before joining him once again. Flipping on the front facing camera, she held the phone up to get both of them in the shot. "Smile!" she hummed, clicking a few quick photos.

Oliver leaned down and kissed her cheek after the first few photos were taken. "Don't show Barry. His ego doesn't need stroked anymore."

"Of course not," she mumbled, as she flipped through the photos with a large smile on her face.

"We should get going," Oliver said, "Thea won't appreciate it if we get there late."

"Let's go then. I can't wait to show you off," Felicity said proudly as she finished typing something on her phone before slipping it into her bra. Interlacing her fingers with Oliver's, the pair made their way out the door to Thea's Halloween party before the whole crew went out trick or treating for the evening.

. . . . . . . .

Barry's phone started buzzing in his pocket while he and Iris were getting ready to head to a Halloween party of their own. When he slipped his phone out of his pocket, a smile grew on his face.

"What's up?" Iris asked, smoothing out her costume.

"Felicity just sent me a picture of her and Oliver's costumes," Barry replied, turning his phone so she could see the image.

"He fits that costume better than you," Iris said with a laugh. The hurt look on his face made her laugh even harder. "I'm kidding. I'm _kidding_."

He quickly typed a response back to Felicity before sending a message off to Oliver.

. . . . . . . .

 _Red looks good on you man! - Barry_

"Oh, Felicity," Oliver called, handing her his phone when she turned to look at him. "What did you _do_?"

She smiled and shrugged. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

He rolled his eyes and leaned down, pressing his lips into hers. "You're just lucky I love you, Felicity Smoak."

"I love you too," she replied, kissing him once more.


	6. Jingle All the Way

**A/N:** So I've been posting an insane amount of Harry Potter themed holiday stories and I didn't want the other fandoms I write for to feel neglected. This story came from a random prompt that I found on tumblr yesterday afternoon and just couldn't walk away from it. I do hope you all enjoy it.

All the love to my beta and best friend, xxDustNight88! She helped me come up with a title for this silly little tale as well. Also, thank you to SquarePeg72 for alpha reading this yesterday afternoon after I finished it!

Title: Jingle All the Way  
Rating: K  
Pairing: Olicity  
Summary: An outfit can really define the outcome of an evening.

If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, I have an author's page on Facebook that you can check out (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I am very active in on a daily basis. I'm also on tumblr (starrnobella) that you can follow along with me as well.

Happy holidays!

Love always,

~starr

* * *

"You aren't planning to wear that hat to Thea's, are you?" Oliver asked, furrowing his brow as he watched Felicity put the finishing touches on her make up for the evening in the reflection of the mirror.

She looked up at him in the mirror and smiled broadly, nodding her head quickly up and down. "I most certainly am! I think it's cute! Don't ya think?" she asked, looking back at him over her shoulder.

Oliver laughed and nodded his head slowly. "It's very cute, but then again you can make anything look cute," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned up against the door frame. "It's a little much though, isn't it?"

Furrowing her brow at him, Felicity turned around and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She placed a tentative hand on the Santa hat on her head and stroked the material lightly. Her hat of choice was a bright read Santa hat with a sprig of mistletoe hanging off the front of it. She wasn't sure what Oliver's problem with the hat was. She looked damn cute, and she wasn't about to let him talk her out of it.

"I think it looks perfect with the rest of my outfit," she told him, pushing herself up from the vanity stool and walking over to him. She placed a gentle hand on his chest and pressed up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "Looks like we're trapped under the mistletoe…"

Oliver laughed quietly as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tight to his chest. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He took advantage of her hold and picked her up off the ground, spinning her around once before deepening the kiss.

After a few brief moments, he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes as he let out a sigh. Felicity leaned back and looked up at him, her brows furrowed slightly.

"What's wrong?" she asked, cupping his cheek softly with her hand as she brushed her thumb over his cheek.

"Nothing," he replied, leaning down to kiss her cheek quickly. "Ready to go?"

Oliver began to turn around and head out the bedroom door when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He froze in his tracks and took a deep breath before turning back around to face her. He painted a fake smile on his face as he met her eyes. "Yes?" he asked.

"You're lying to me," she said calmly. "So you can either tell me what's bothering you about my outfit, or you can sleep at Thea's tonight instead of coming home with me."

Oliver scrubbed his hands over his face and let out a long sigh. "I'm just not a big fan of your hat. You know I'm not the biggest fan of public displays of affection and that hat requires quite a bit of it…" he said, his voice trailing off slightly.

Felicity looked up at the brim of her hat through her lashes and bit her lower lip slightly. "I'm sure I can find something else to wear," she said, her voice heavy with disappointment as she slowly reached up to take it off, but Oliver reached out to stop her.

"Except you don't really want to," Oliver replied.

Felicity shrugged and looked down at her feet as she kicked at the carpet between them. "Not really," she said, looking up at him through her lashes.

"Just try not to get caught by anyone under your hat," Oliver said, shaking his head as he rubbed a hand over his head.

Felicity pressed up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly. "The only person I'd want to catch with my mistletoe is you," she said happily, lowering herself back down and interlaced her fingers with his. "Ready to go?"

"Let's keep the mistletoe catching to a minimum tonight, shall we?" Oliver asked, squeezing her hand lightly.

"I think I can handle that," she replied."

. . . . . . . .

To say that Christmas had arrived at Verdant would have been an understatement, Oliver realized as he looked around the club. As he thought about it, he realized that saying Christmas had exploded or vomited all over the club would have been a more accurate statement. He was having trouble remembering what Verdant had originally looked like when he and Tommy had opened the club.

"Hey, Ollie," Thea said, wrapping an arm around Oliver's shoulder and kissing him quickly on the cheek. "I like your choice of ugly sweater."

"I would hope so," Oliver said with a laugh, "you bought it for me."

Thea took a step back and looked at the sweater once again and nodded her head. "Yeah," she laughed, "I guess I did. What do you think of the decorations? Bet you didn't know Verdant could look this festive."

"It looks great, Speedy," Oliver said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his side, squeezing her tight.

"Where's Felicity?" Thea asked, looking around the near vicinity for her.

Oliver took a quick look around and shrugged. "Not sure. I've been hiding from her."

"What did you do?" Thea demanded, stepping away from Oliver's embrace and resting her hands on her hips.

" _I_ didn't do anything!" Oliver said, putting his hands up in the air.

Thea narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head at him. "I don't believe you, so I'll ask again. What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Oliver replied. "I'm choosing to hide from her."

"Why?" Thea insisted. "What's going on with you two?"

"Nothing's wrong," Oliver said calmly, even though he could tell that she didn't believe a word that was coming out of his mouth. "Speedy, I promise. Nothing is wrong between us. I'm just not a big fan of her outfit tonight."

"Why not?" she asked, relaxing a little bit, but still a little on edge as she waited for him to answer her question.

Oliver looked around the room to see if he could spot her in the crowd of people. As luck would have it, she was headed right for them. "You'll see in a second," Oliver said with a laugh.

"What do you me -," Thea began to say as she turned to look in the same direction that Oliver was looking and stopped mid-sentence. "Oh. My. God."

"Thea!" Felicity cheered, wrapping her up in a tight embrace. "This place looks fantastic!"

"Thanks, Felicity," Thea replied, taking a step back to take in the whole ensemble that she was wearing. "You look great. I think my favorite part is your hat. Is that mistletoe?"

Felicity nodded her head up and down furiously. "Yup, but I don't think Oliver's the biggest fan of the hat though," she said, pouting her lower lip out as far as she could get it to go. She wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

Reluctantly Oliver wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "You know why I'm not a big fan of the hat," he whispered.

"That doesn't mean you have to avoid me," she replied, looking up at him through her lashes as a smile played at her lips.

Oliver opened his mouth to say something, but closed it almost immediately after and thought about his next choice of words carefully. He was toeing a very fine line right now and the wrong words would mean he was sleeping on Thea's couch tonight instead of his very comfortable bed at home.

He noticed that Felicity was smiling at his struggle out of the corner of his eye and allowed a smile to grow on his face quickly. He shook his head as he started to laugh. "I'm not avoiding you, so to speak," he replied.

"Then what are you avoiding?" she asked, pressing up on her tiptoes to rest her head on his shoulder briefly as she waited for his answer.

Oliver reached up and tapped the sprig of mistletoe hanging from her forehead. "I'm avoiding this thing," he said.

"Why are you avoiding the mistletoe? It didn't do anything to you," Felicity said, her eyes wide with glee as she smiled from ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat.

"No," Oliver said, shaking his head slightly, "but the person underneath it has a few ideas of her own that could lead to some trouble."

"Who? Me?" Felicity asked, surprised at his quick admission of concern. She crossed her arms over her chest, causing her sweater to jingle slightly. She looked down at her sweater and smiled. She had forgotten that her ugly sweater had a few noisy attachments.

"Yes, you, but I love you anyways," Oliver replied, looping a finger under her chin and tipped her head up to look at him and pressed his lips to hers softly. "There, I've freed myself from your trap."

"That you have," Felicity said with a laugh.

Thea just shook her head and laughed at the pair. "You two make quite the couple," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You know you love us," Felicity said, sticking her tongue out at Thea. She turned back to Oliver and pressed up on her tiptoes, kissing his cheek quickly. "I'm going to see if I can find John and the others. Join me on the dance floor soon?"

"Absolutely," Oliver replied, nodding his head up and down. Felicity smiled at him and squeezed his hand quickly before walking away from the Queen family. Oliver just shook his head as he watched her walk away with a smile beaming brightly from his face.

"Was that her sweater jingling?" Thea asked, shaking her head slowly as she watched her walk away from them.

"Yup," Oliver replied. "You saw the decorations on the tree, right?"

Thea nodded her head.

"They were all jingle bells," Oliver said with a laugh.

"She really is a unique one, isn't she?" Thea laughed.

"That she is, and it's why I love her," Oliver said proudly as he watched her take the dance floor with the rest of team Arrow.


	7. Out of the Kitchen

**A/N:** Today's theme for the Ship It Challenge was the newest ship you've got. For me, there were about three ships that came into harbor at about the same time. Olicity, Stony, and Thorki. Now besides a few five sentence prompts that I do on Tumblr, I've never written Stony or Thorki. At this point in the month, I'm not ready to be pulled completely out of my comfort zone just yet, so I went with my Arrow loves.

Beta love heads to the wonderful GaeligeRua! She's amazing and I love her! She's also been kicking ass on the titles for these things lately! All the love!

Title: Out of the Kitchen  
Rating: K  
Pairing: Olicity  
Summary: A snapshot into Oliver and Felicity's kitchen on their anniversary enjoying a night in.

If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, consider checking me out on Facebook! I have an author's page (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I post in regularly. I'm also on Tumblr (starrnobella) where you can follow along with me as well.

No clue where this one came from, but I do hope you all enjoy! Be sure to let me know what you think!

Love always,  
~starr

* * *

"Didn't I kick you out already?" he mumbled, hearing the click of her heels walking across the kitchen floor behind him. He sighed, setting the spoon down and turning around to lean up against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. He had positioned himself in front of the food that he had been preparing so that she couldn't get a sneak peek when she stopped just in front of him.

"Yes, but-," Felicity said, wrapping her arms around his waist. She pressed up on her tiptoes lightly and kissed him. She smiled when she felt him relax at her touch and enjoyed the feeling of his arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her flush against him as he deepened the kiss. A breathy moan escaped her lips when she felt him tighten his hold on her and his tongue slipped inside quickly.

After a few moments, they pulled apart as Felicity lowered herself back down and placed her head against his chest. Oliver rested his chin on the top of her head and held her tight. As they stood there, Oliver felt her head move to try and peak over his shoulder and see what he was working on.

"No peeking," Oliver said, pushing her back away from the counter slightly with a smile on his face.

Felicity huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "That's not fair. What if I wanted to help you cook?"

Oliver quirked his brow and rest his hands on his hips momentarily before crossing them over his chest. "Did you have any interest in helping me cook?"

Felicity opened her mouth to respond, but snapped it shut almost immediately. Speaking without thinking would not be wise because she might actually help with dinner, and to be honest, Oliver was definitely the better cook out of the pair. "Now that you mention it, I think I have something I need to work on for Helix Dynamic. But if you need me to help…"

"Nope, time for you to get out," Oliver said with a laugh.

"Is that any way to talk to your wife on your anniversary?" Felicity teased, sticking her tongue out before hurrying out of the kitchen.

Oliver laughed and shook his head as he returned his focus to their dinner. One of these days he'd teach her to cook, but he'd like to stay out of the hospital on their anniversary.


	8. Faith in You

**A/N:** Firstly, Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday. Mine has been spent with Chinese food, wine, and chips with dip along with my amazing roommate xxDustNight88.

Secondly, I'm sorry that I haven't updated for a few days. The Ship It Challenge has left me struggling for a few pairings, let alone coming up with a story idea for each of them. That being said, I'm a few days behind...like 6 days or so. Anyways, the story you are reading today is actually for Day 8 which was the most popular ship in the fandom. I've been loving the Arrow fandom lately, so of course I wrote Olicity.

I'll apologize up front for this starting out a little angsty, but I promise it ends happily.

The amazing GaeilgeRua helped me out by beta reading this story for me. I'm just hoping that you all enjoy as much as she did.

Title: Faith in You  
Rating: T  
Pairing: Olicity  
Summary: When Oliver's in danger, there's only one person guaranteed to find him and bring him back home.

If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, consider checking me out on Facebook! I have an author's page (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I post in regularly. I'm also on Tumblr (starrnobella) where you can follow along with me as well.

Hope you enjoy this. The Arrow fandom is always so kind and I appreciate everyone who reads my work!

Love always,  
~starr

* * *

"What if I don't find him in time?"

Her voice called to him through the com that was still barely lodged in his ear. He tried to respond to her, but his voice couldn't be found. Every inch of his body ached and he could barely open his eyes.

"Felicity, you'll find him…"

John's voice came through the com, but it was quickly cut off by her voice once again. She was in a panic and that was evident in her voice. There was a concern hidden in her voice that was meant for only him to hear.

"What if I can't, John? I'm not perfect! I don't always find everyone and sometimes…"

Her voice cracked and a sob wracked through her body. All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and say that everything would be okay. He was compelled to remind her that in his eyes she was perfect. He trusted with her life. He'd be insane if he didn't trust her with it. She's always been the one to be there for him.

"Sometimes, I don't find them in time. People die when I don't find them in time, John. I can't let them happen to him. I can't lose him…"

Oliver tried to open his mouth, but was only able to wince in pain. Slowly, his eyes finally fluttered opened slightly. Instead of turning his head to either side, he trailed his eyes over his surroundings. Nothing looked familiar, but that didn't mean anything. He just happened to be looking at the world with a distorted haze.

"You won't lose him, Felicity. I have faith in you. Oliver has faith in you…"

"Oliver's not here! He can't have faith in me if he's not here."

Suddenly she heard a low groan come through the speaker connected to the com system. Fumbling for the volume, Felicity practically knocked the monitor off the table. Tears had begun to roll down her cheeks as she realized that there was a chance he was still alive. No one else was connected to the specific com that was currently generating sound.

"Oliver!" Felicity called, a hope that had appeared lost slowly returned to her voice. "Oliver, are you there?"

Her pleas were met with another groan. Reaching over, Felicity slid her chair over from where it had been sitting and positioned herself in front of one the monitors. John watched her carefully from where he stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

They both studied the screens as images flashed across them. The images were followed by a series of pings and beeps, but nothing new was appearing on the screen. As the moments passed by, Felicity and John began to get more and more nervous.

"Feli…" his voice cracked through the come. It was weak, but at least it was there and that hope was all Felicity needed.

"Stay with me, Oliver," she insisted as she typed away furiously at the keys.

"What do you need me to do?" John asked, placing his hands on the table next to where she was working.

"Pray that this works," she replied, focusing her attention to the screen. The beeping slowed as the sound of clicking keys took over the silence that had fallen over them.

It felt like time was standing still. A few long moments passed by before a computer screen in front of them lit up and pinged with information. Felicity slid her chair across the platform until she was sitting directly in front of the computer that was flashing the most rapidly. She typed a few things furious before her arms jolted up into the air excitedly.

"I found him!" she shouted turning to John and jumping up out of her chair. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight before taking her seat once again. "Oliver?"

She waited for an answer, but as the seconds ticked by without response her worry increased. "Oliver, are you there?"

She snapped her head toward John. "You need to go find him. He's not responding to my voice. I need you to find him."

"I'll bring him home, Felicity. I promise," John said, leaning down, he pressed his lips to the top of her head.

Felicity closed her eyes softly, fighting back the tears that she could feel welling up in the corners of her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she quickly wiped away the stray tears that had managed to fall through her lashes before she turned back to the computer.

"I can't lose you, Oliver. I haven't been able to tell you how much I love you. Please don't leave me…" she whispered, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table as she lowered her head into her hands.

The minutes passed by and Felicity's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. The thoughts that had begun to cross her mind scared her and she tried to push them away, but everytime she did, a new one would manage to creep in to take the old one's place. She closed her eyes briefly with every intent of opening them again just seconds later, but her subconscious took over and lulled her into a light sleep.

"Felicity!"

His voice jolted her head up from where it had fallen to the table. Turning towards his voice, she saw John carrying Oliver into the bunker. It was a sight she was far too familiar with. She jumped out of her seat and ran across the bunker to the table that John had set Oliver's body down on.

"You found him."

"Yeah, but he's not in good shape. Where's his chest?"

"Over there. What do you need me to do?"

"Start an IV. I need him conscious for the herbs to work."

Oliver's brain was working in overdrive trying to force his eyes to open and his body to move, allowing him to sit up and prove to them that he's doing okay. Sure he was in some pain, but he needed them to know that he was still alive inside. He also needed to tell Felicity that he heard what she had whispered before she drifted off.

He needed to tell her how much he loved her. He needed to promise her that she'd never have to worry about losing him again. He needed to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight. He needed to kiss her one more time.

"Alright, Oliver. Let's hope this herbs still have some kick."

The taste in his mouth was better, but the effects were felt almost immediately. His eyes fluttered open and the first face he saw was hers. The face that he had been thinking about just moments before the world around him had gone dark.

"Felicity."

Her name fell from his lips and he saw a smile appear on hers. Before he knew it, her arms were wrapped around his neck, holding him tight.

Resting her tear-stained cheeks on his shoulder, she took a deep breath. "I'm so glad you're alive. Don't you ever scare me like that again. I thought I'd never see you again."

"I'll always come back to you, Felicity. I love you."


	9. Tension

**A/N:** Another day, another story. However I'm still a bunch of days behind, so you'll have to bear with me here. This story's theme is an Unpopular Ship in the fandom. I'm not entirely sure if this ship is actually unpopular, but I didn't want to write the same pairing that a bunch of my other writer friends were doing. I wanted to be different, since that's what I like to do here. I'll be honest, I haven't the slightest clue where this story came from. The first line kinda just appeared on my screen before I knew what I was writing.

Beta love goes _GaeilgeRua_ , without whom I wouldn't have a legible story for you all this evening!

Title: Tension  
Rating: T  
Pairing: Oliver/Sara  
Summary: Tonight wasn't meant to be a time to argue or make jokes. Tonight was supposed to be a time to grieve, but of course when she showed up in the bunker tension began to build forcing all his grief to be put on a back burner.

If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, consider checking me out on Facebook! I have an author's page (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I post in regularly. I'm also on Tumblr (starrnobella) where you can follow along with me as well.

Be sure to let me know what you think. This is my first time writing this pairing and of course I'm in an angsty mood, so this is what came of it.

Love always,  
~starr

* * *

"You need to be careful around her…"

Oliver turned toward her voice. It felt as though he was dreaming. He hadn't seen or heard from her in months. In fact, he thought she had died. Sometimes he wondered if maybe things would be better off if that were the case.

Quentin had started drinking again. Laurel had been in and out of rehab twice. Everything had been a mess since their resurrection from the Island. And with how simple Sara found it to disappear, the mess just continued to grow.

"What are you doing here, Sara?"

He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning up against the table. It wasn't the first time someone had gotten into the bunker without him realizing it, and he was certain that it wouldn't be the last. Sometimes when he was down here, he'd get lost in thought. Tonight those thoughts were about Tommy.

"I heard about Tommy..."

She had crossed the length of the bunker and was now standing in front of him. Her expression was that of concern, wanting nothing more than to reach out and wrap him in her arms. She wanted to take away his pain, but she knew that wasn't what he needed right now. He needed a friend, but as she thought about it longer she knew that it wasn't her. He needed Tommy.

"So why bring up Felicity?"

She sighed, fighting the urge she felt to roll her eyes, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I was trying to lighten the mood. Apparently you don't know how to take a joke today."

"It's not exactly been a funny day."

"Really? I had no idea. I thought it was April Fool's Day. He was my friend too, Oliver, but you don't see me sulking around. He wouldn't want that."

Oliver scoffed and shook his head. Slowly he turned away from her and picked up an arrow off the table. Examining it intently, he took a deep breath. "So you're suggesting I take advice from someone who has barely been around? Someone who can't be bothered to tell her family she's alive? Tell me, Sara, what do you know about what anyone in your life would want right now."

Sara opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again almost immediately. She couldn't believe the words that had just left his mouth. He knew why she couldn't say anything. She couldn't put her family in danger. Staying away wasn't what she wanted to do, but she wasn't allowed to do what she wanted.

He laughed at the silence that remained between them. Silence was becoming their new norm since she had come back. Although, he couldn't say much because he hadn't been very forthcoming with any information lately.

"If you can stay away from your family, then you can stay away from me. You know the way out."

With that he left, walking past her and out of the bunker. Tonight wasn't the time to talk about their issues. Tonight he needed to grieve the loss of his best friend, not argue with the woman he used to love, but barely even knew.


	10. Sisterly Advice

A/N: So I'm going to apologize in advance for killing yet another major character in the Arrow fandom, that way before you even consider reading this story you know that someone big in the fandom dies. That being said, it's not Oliver or Felicity, but it's still a main character in the fandom.

This story was written from a DustNight Pop Up Prompt. The words given to me were coffee, disappointing, and quit. The quote given to me was "I'm not bound to you. I'm not bound to anyone."

Beta love goes GaeilgeRua, without whom I wouldn't have a legible story for you all this evening!

Title: Sisterly Advice  
Rating: M for language  
Pairing: Oliver/Felicity  
Summary: An untimely death can bring about feelings of self hatred and anger as well as ultimately making a person change their outlook on the future. With a little self reflection a person may finally take that step needed to make a change in their lives.

Definitely check me out on social media if you enjoy my work! I'd love to have you in my personal facebook group or even following my author's page.

Be sure to let me know what you think! Sorry for all the sadness.

Love always,  
~starr

* * *

"I quit."

The simple statement didn't make sense to him as it made its way through his head. Nothing that passed through his head recently seemed to make sense. The last few days had been a complete blur, and nothing seemed to be lifting the haze that had fallen over both of them. Although that's to be expected when someone dies.

Furrowing his brow, Oliver scrubbed his hands over his face before running them over the top of his head. He exhaled as he lowered his arms and was met with blue eyes glaring at him. He could hear the faint tapping of her shoes against the bunker floor.

She was angry. He couldn't blame her, he was angry too. It wasn't supposed to happen this way.

"What do you mean you quit?"

His voice was cold, causing a shiver to run down her spine. Normally when he spoke to her, there was a sweetness there, almost as though he genuinely cared about her. Today was definitely different. If she was being honest with herself, she couldn't blame him. Everything was different now.

She took a deep breath and contemplated her answer carefully. The old saying was always to never argue when you're already angry, it just makes things worse. Although, at this point, she didn't really think that things could get any worse. The line that shouldn't be crossed had recently become too blurry to see.

"I quit," she replied, purposefully enunciating the words as she fought the urge to roll her eyes at his question. She hadn't stuttered or stumbled over her words. She was fairly certain she had been quite clear in her statement of her future employment with the Green Arrow.

Her entire existence on team Arrow had been built upon false hopes that were running out of legs to stand on. She thought that maybe there had been something more between the two of them, but as time continued to pass on, she was beginning to realize that the feelings were only one-sided. She was sick of having her heart trampled on by someone who didn't want to be with her or at least that's what he had convinced himself of in her opinion.

She could see it in his eyes. Every time she caught him staring at her out of the corner of her eye, she could see something that sparkled just for her. Or at least, she hoped it was just for her. She never had the courage to actually ask him. She would rather die than admit her feelings, just to have him tell her that he didn't feel the same.

"You quit what, Felicity?"

He looked at her with confusion radiating from his eyes. He was either being dense, or he was choosing to ignore the fact that the mission that blew up in their faces was her fault. Even the thought running through her mind hurt and she couldn't believe that it was the truth. Surely they could have found someone else to blame, but that wouldn't be an honest representation of everything that had gone on tonight.

Thea was dead, and it was Felicity's fault. There was no one else to blame but her. She had sent Thea into a location completely blind. How was she supposed to know that there was a line of men armed with automatic firearms waiting on the other side of the door? There had been zero heat signatures when she had checked the building. It wasn't until she heard the sound of the gunshots through the comms that she even knew anything was going wrong.

"I can't be Overwatch anymore!" The words escaped her lips louder than she had intended, but she wasn't about to back down. "I just can't do it anymore, Oliver. After tonight…"

"Tonight was not your fault," he replied.

She tossed her head back with a laugh and shook her head. "Only you would think that," she scoffed, turning on her heels and making her way to the raised platform in the middle of the bunker. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and stared at the screens from a distance. She couldn't bring herself to take the first step. Doing so would mean that everything that happened was a reality and there was no going back.

He watched her for a few moments before making the decision to join her at the stairs. He could tell that she was struggling with this, and he wanted her to know that she wasn't alone in how she was feeling, but she couldn't continue to blame herself. It hadn't been her decision to let Thea go out in the field when she wasn't ready.

That had been his unfortunate decision in the matter. Actually, it had ultimately been Thea's decision. He had to keep reminding himself that he couldn't control what his sister did. When she put her mind to something, there was no changing what she had decided.

He placed a gentle hand on the small her back as he took his place beside her. He felt her entire body shiver at his touch, and he fought back the urge to smile. The fact that his simple touch had such an effect on her was amusing, but now was not the time to be amused. Now was a time to deal with everything that had happened.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered as a stream of tears began to roll down her cheek. As a sob ripped through her body, she felt Oliver pull her into his arms and hold her tight against him. She buried her face in his chest as the tears continued to fall and for a long time, it seemed as though they would never stop.

After what felt like an eternity had passed, Felicity finally pulled away from him and took a step back, allowing an empty void to grow between them. She wiped away a few stray tears that had begun to roll down her cheek and took a deep breath, wrapping her arms around her waist. "I know the news of me quitting must be disappointing, but I just can't do this anymore."

Oliver furrowed his brow and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not disappointed."

Felicity looked up at him, puzzled as she scrunched her brow. "You're not?"

Shaking his head, Oliver took a seat on the steps behind her and watched as she spun around to now face him, meeting his eyes with hers. "I can't be disappointed in someone who is brave enough to do what I can't."

"What can't you do?"

"Walk away from this life."

Felicity looked at him for a moment as the words he had spoken made their way through her mind. Something didn't quite add up, and she wasn't sure why. There was nothing in this life forcing Oliver to continue to be the Green Arrow. If anything, everything in this life was pushing him away from that life. So why was he so set on the fact that he couldn't walk away from this?

"Why not? No one is holding a gun to your head telling you that you have to be the Green Arrow or else they'll kill everyone you care about."

The words escaped her lips before she realized what exactly she had said. The pain stricken look that appeared on Oliver's face was what caused her to realize what had just happened.

"Oliver," she said, stepping forward and placing a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," he replied coldly, rising from the stairs and walking past her deeper into the bunker. He was searching for something, but he wasn't sure what until he stumbled upon the ratty old punching bag hanging from the ceiling.

He took hold of the bag with both hands and looked at it momentarily. Felicity watched him from a safe distance away. Usually, when he looked at the bag with that expression, the bag was in for quite a beating. It didn't matter what had upset him, it just mattered that there was something he could take his aggression out on.

Suddenly Oliver took a step back, drawing his fist back behind his head and then furiously swinging it forward into the bag. There was an audible crunch as his knuckles made contact with the bag. Felicity flinched and covered her face with her hands, mostly because she didn't want to see the potential bones protruding from his skin.

Shaking his hand briefly, Oliver counter swung at the punching back with his opposite fist, hitting the bag with the same force as the first hit. A similar crunch rang around the bunker. However, instead of pausing to assess the damage, Oliver continued his onslaught of the punching bag.

Felicity watched him beat the dust out of the bag with hit after hit. After about fifteen minutes of constant punching, she had started to lose track of the numbers of times she was sure he had broken at least one bone in his hand. Shaking her head, she sighed and marched over to Oliver and grabbed his shoulder. Using all of her might, she forcibly pulled his shoulder back and made him look at her.

"Can you be done now? Your hand is covered in blood, and I'm pretty sure you've completely shattered all of the bones in your right hand," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head to the side waiting for him to respond.

He opened his mouth to respond, but closed it quickly and looked down at his hand. She was right. He couldn't see the flesh of his hands because they were covered in blood. Apparently, he was hitting the punching bag a tad harder than he had initially intended. He pressed a gentle finger against the back of his right hand and flinched, pulling his finger away quickly.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Felicity mocked, shaking her head. She reached out and cupped his elbow, leading him back to the center of the bunker. She pointed to the empty chair beside the conference table and waited for him to sit down. When he obliged her silent request, she walked over to the cabinet and found the first aid kit. Making her way back to the conference table, she stopped and collected a large bowl of warm water and a few towels.

"I'm not going to be able to set the bones back in place. I'll probably throw up if I have to do that, but I can at least get you cleaned up enough that people in the ER won't ask questions when you go inside. Why didn't you stop when it hurt the first time?" she asked, pressing the warm towel to the back of his hand.

"I was taking out my anger with someone," he replied, gritting his teeth in pain as she applied pressure onto the fractured bones.

"Who?" she asked, curiously looking up at him beneath her brow and smiling softly when she watched him flinch in pain when she wasn't pressing his hand all that hard.

"Myself," he replied.

"So you took your anger out on your hands with the punching bag?" Felicity sighed and placed the towel down on the table, pushing her chair back and walking over to the cabinet once more. She rummaged around inside for a few moments before returning once again and handing Oliver a mirror.

Furrowing his brow, he took the mirror out of her hands and looked at his reflection. He looked like hell if he was being honest, but he was fairly certain that she hadn't handed him the mirror just to take a good look at himself. "What's this for?"

"Tell yourself what you're feeling and why you are angry with yourself," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest as she sat back down in the chair. She rolled her eyes at the look he had given her and sighed. "It's better than shattering every single bone in your hand, isn't it?"

Oliver thought about it for a moment and shrugged. She had an excellent point. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before slowly opening his eyes to look at his reflection.

"I hate that I feel like I can't walk away from the life you've chosen to live. I hate that I feel like I'm bound to be killed doing what I think is right for this city because somewhere deep in my mind, I'm fucked up beyond all belief that I can't see the good right in front of me. I hate that I know I'm failing this city every night I go out hiding behind my mask and interfering with the investigations of the SCPD.

"I hate that the feeling of being bound to a future is what got my sister killed. If it wasn't for you, Thea would still be alive right now. She would be telling me that I was an idiot for not asking Felicity out for coffee when I first met her and realized I was falling hard for her. She would be reminding me that I was crazy about her and refused to admit it because I was too committed to this job. I hate that I blame myself for all of this."

Oliver's eyes flickered over to Felicity when he spoke about her and noticed the small smile on her face, but he quickly closed his eyes. He couldn't think about the potential for happiness right now. He needed cope with all of the other emotions he was dealing with at the moment before he could focus on the future that he wanted to have. He knew there was one last thing he needed to tell himself, even though he wasn't really speaking to himself. He knew he was speaking to the Hood.

"I'm not bound to you. I'm not bound to anyone," Oliver said coldly, placing the mirror face down on the table and pushed his chair back from the table. He walked over to where he kept his suit and stared at the fabric enclosed by the glass. He placed a gentle hand on the glass and took a deep breath. Slowly he turned and walked away from it. He made his way quickly to where Felicity was standing and wrapped a cautious arm around her waist.

He pulled her close to him and lowered his lips to meet hers, capturing her in a kiss unlike any other that she had ever felt before. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into the kiss, now that the initial surprise of the action had faded away.

After a few brief moments, they both pulled away and rested their foreheads together as they tried to catch their breaths. A heavy silence fell around them and enveloped them in a sense of peacefulness after everything the day had led them caused them to run away from. Oliver was the first to pull further away, only to look down at the beautiful woman in his arms and smile.

"How about I take you out for that cup of coffee my sister has been insisting I take you out for?" he said, grimacing at the sad thoughts of his sister, but still smiling through it all the same.

"I'd love to," Felicity replied happily. "But first can we go see Dr. Schwartz to get your hand checked out?"

Oliver smiled and nodded his head. Keeping his arm around Felicity's waist, he led them out of the bunker and back out into the world. He knew that Thea wouldn't want him to sit around and mope about her death. She would want him to live his life. The dead would never be forgotten, only to be honored in doing that which makes him happy.


	11. Green Looks Good On You

**A/N:** I know I'm a few days late with a Halloween themed story, but that's okay right? Everyone's still in a slightly spooky mood for a least a few days into November anyways. I tried my hardest to get this finished before Halloween, but my muse wouldn't let me.

As you can guess by the title, this story is related slightly to last year's Halloween story, Red Looks Good on You. To understand this story, it is not necessary to have read the other story, but I'd greatly appreciate it if you did and let me know what you thought of both!

Beta love goes GaeilgeRua, without whom I wouldn't have a legible story for you all this evening!

Title: Green Looks Good on You  
Rating: K  
Pairing: Felicity & Thea, Oliver/Felicity  
Summary: All it takes is finding the perfect costume.

Definitely check me out on social media if you enjoy my work! I'd love to have you in my personal facebook group or even following my author's page.

Be sure to let me know what you think! Belated Happy Halloween!

Love always,  
~starr

* * *

Felicity walked along the aisle, glancing to the left and right at the costumes that surrounded her on both sides. Nothing was calling out to her, and that was disheartening. She needed to outdo last year's costume. Along with that, she needed to figure out what she was going to convince Oliver to wear to Thea's party. She wasn't certain that she could persuade him to go as the Flash two years in a row, especially after Barry's teasing of the costume.

"Are you finding anything?" Thea called from the next aisle over.

Noticing she was at the end of her aisle, Felicity rounded the corner to join Thea and shook her head. "Nope. What about you?"

"Nothing that I would be caught dead in at my worst enemy's party," she replied. "Maybe we should try a different costume store?"

Felicity looked around at the small selection that surrounded them and shook her head as she let out a sigh. "I don't think another store is going to help us out here."

Thea took a deep breath and nodded her head in agreement. "Sadly, I think you're right. So, what are we going to do?"

"That's an excellent question," Felicity mumbled. She closed her eyes for a few brief moments and took a deep breath. Maybe if she really thought about it, she'd be able to come up with the perfect costume. However, the longer she kept her eyes shut, the fewer ideas she was able to come up with.

Thea looked at Felicity and thought for a moment when the light bulb inside her head lit up. A wicked grin pulled at the corner of her lips, and she reached over and tapped Felicity on the shoulder.

"What?" Felicity's eyes snapped open, and she noticed the grin on Thea's face. She furrowed her brow and crossed her arms over her chest. "You've got an idea, don't you?"

Thea nodded her head slowly and grabbed Felicity's hand, pulling her towards the door of the store. "We're headed to the bunker."

"The bunker?"

. . . . . . . . .

Slowly, Felicity turned and looked in the mirror for the first time since putting the costume on. When she looked at her reflection, a smile pulled at the corner of her lips. This was the perfect costume, and she could only hope that Oliver would agree when he finally saw it.

"So, what do you think?" she asked, turning back to look at Thea who was putting the finishing touches on her makeup in the mirror opposite.

Thea glanced back over her shoulder at Felicity and smiled before straightening up and turning around to face her. "It looks like that costume was made for you."

Felicity glanced in the mirror once more. Normally, she wasn't one to wear an outfit made entirely out of leather, but the more she looked at her reflection, the more she was opening up to the idea. Briefly, the idea of wearing leather more often flitted its way across her mind, but she pushed the thought roughly aside. The potential risk of chafing was far too high, and no one wanted to deal with that.

"I'm almost ready to go," Thea said, turning back to the mirror. "Just need to apply my lipstick, and then we have to take a picture. Then we'll be ready to head to Verdant."

"You know, Oliver's really proud of what you've been able to do with Verdant since taking over. He might not always tell you, but he wouldn't have in anyone else's hands," Felicity said, tugging at the edge of her skirt.

"Quit pulling that down. The sultry look is part of the costume," Thea hissed, holding back a laugh when she noticed Felicity rolling her eyes at her. "You really think that's how he feels?"

"I know so," she replied, finally walking away from the full-length mirror and she placed a gentle hand on Thea's back. "He's your big brother, and you're the only family he's got, of course, he thinks the world of you."

"I'm not the only family he's got," Thea said, making eye contact with Felicity in the reflection of the mirror. "You're part of our family too."

"But not officially," she mumbled.

"Since when does the Queen family do anything officially?" Thea laughed. She noticed a sadness in Felicity's eyes and turned to wrap her in a hug. Squeezing her tight, she smiled when she felt Felicity's arms wrap around her as well. "Even without that ring on your finger, you are a part of our family. He'll propose eventually."

"I know you're right," she mumbled. "I just wished he'd get on with it already."

Felicity fanned herself quickly as she felt tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes. She took a deep breath and laughed as she pulled away from Thea, wiping the corners of her eyes and being cautious of her make-up. "The Green Arrow doesn't cry. Must not cry."

Thea chuckled and nodded her head. "Plus, we don't have enough of that color to redo the entire mask. Hold it together, Smoak!"

After a few moments of laughing and last-minute touches, Felicity and Thea were ready to go. They each took one last look in the mirror and made their way to the front door of Felicity's apartment.

"Let's take a selfie to send to Oliver first. Need to let him know there's a new Green Arrow in town," Thea said with a smile.

Felicity came over and wrapped her arm around Thea's waist and smiled as she held the phone out in front of the two of them, quickly snapping the picture. One quick check to approve that the photo looked good and it was ready to go.

She opened her messages and scrolled until she found Oliver's name in her phone. She smiled as she pressed it and opened up their conversation. Attaching the picture, she quickly typed off her message and hit send. Hopefully, he'd enjoy the costume, and she couldn't wait to see him in person.

. . . . . . . .

It didn't take him long to find her when he walked into Verdant. The picture sitting on his phone definitely helped but, honestly, who else would have dressed up in costume as the Green Arrow other than someone on his team?

He smiled to himself as he made his way across the club to where she was sitting. She was in the middle of a conversation with someone and had her back to the room. There was an empty seat behind her, so when he reached her, he quickly slipped into the seat and placed a gentle hand on her waist.

"What the hell do you think you-" she grumbled, slowly turning to see who was touching her only to cut herself off mid-sentence when she realized who it was. "Hey, you." She leaned in and kissed him softly. "When did you get here?"

"About five minutes ago," Oliver said, reaching up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ears. "So, it looks like someone is trying to take my night job."

"You have failed this city, so someone else needed to step in," she replied, tossing her head back slightly with a laugh and smiled broadly as she tilted her head back towards him.

"Well, if someone has to take my place it should definitely be someone who looks good in the uniform and, baby, green looks good on you," he replied, leaning in and capturing her lips in his.


End file.
